Only one driver has swept every stage of a race this season en route to a victory.
Martin Truex Jr. accomplished that feat on Saturday at Kentucky Speedway, and it's actually the second time he's swept a race this season. Truex has been the best driver of the season, which is reflected in the points standings as he surpassed Kyle Larson this week.
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Truex has three wins this season, and some NASCAR fans are bored with his dominance. Dale Earnhardt Jr. defended Truex's dominance on Twitter and on the Dale Jr. Download podcast.
So sick of Martin Truex Jr winning everything... making NASCAR not even fun to watch anymore. Boring. #nascar #quakerstate400
— Kade Bosworth (@kade88bosworth) July 9, 2017
Earnhardt said Truex's dominance "healthy" for NASCAR on his podcast.
"Especially in today's environment with the way the cars are so similar and there's just really not a lot of things you can do to get an advantage, I find it really impressive to see what Truex (was) capable of doing last Saturday night," Earnhardt said.
"Yeah, you don't want to see that every single week. That's not great for any sport to have a team dominating week after week after week to make things too predictable. But when that happens, you have to kind of appreciate that."
Earnhardt said NASCAR fans used to appreciate dominance when it was Dale Earnhardt Sr. or Bill Elliott or Richard Petty earning dominating wins. And those same fans would probably enjoy the race if Earnhardt Jr. was dominating instead of Truex.
Even with Truex's three victories, he isn't guaranteed to win the championship. Jimmie Johnson also has three wins this season, and Kyle Larson has had a great year as well.
As Earnhardt said, it'd be different if Truex was winning every stage and every race each week. Even though Truex has been outstanding, there's a long way to go before the champion will be determined.
(h/t For The Win)